As the third in a series on my column in the Martinsburg Journal, I am recviewing going off to college for parents. I thought this one was particularly relvent here at the beginning of summer for parents facing this problem

Raising Good Kids in Tough Times
By Dr. Roger McIntire

Parent Help Before College
Just a week or so ago, our budding college students graduated from high school and in only a few more weeks they will face college on their own. How can parents help their student stay the course through four years?
Few students will leave college because of low grades. Colleges don’t send many termination letters. Usually the student does the leaving, because of loneliness, possible money problems, or as the result of bad habits.
Bad habits start when offers of credit cards come to their new mailbox. Cars and credit cards keep the pressure on to work more hours at a part-time job. Students need to keep shopping, credit cards and car expenses low.
Student surveys show that the most likely dropouts are students who live far from campus and work long hours at a job away from school. The best predictor of impending failure is cutting classes because of a long commute or long work hours. These students start by complaining of no time left after school and work. They end by dropping the only part of college they signed up for—the classes. Students need to join campus clubs and activities to keep morale up.
When it comes to staying healthy, you would think 18-year-olds would be at the peak of health. Yet bad habits and an inclination to feel invulnerable have led to campus infirmary statistics that tell a different story. Late-night studying, bad diet and only erratic exercise make college students the greatest sufferers of colds, headaches, and the latest flu bug.
Parents should consider giving an “Off-to-College Shower.” Invite all the relatives and friends. Ask each person to write a little advice in a front-door guest book, “The best thing I did in school was... have a good breakfast…join the local church young adults group...take up dancing... run every day...join the computer club or the ski club.”
If your college-bound student still has time to go before college, start the practice now on choosing a good diet, holding to an exercise routine, and learning the domestic basics of cooking, using the laundry, and managing a budget. Trying to teach the basics of living on the dormitory steps is too late. Practice at home will get them off to a good start when they are on their own.
Trouble selecting a major is a common factor in the dropout statistics. Most universities have 100 or more majors, but first-time students can barely name 20! No wonder over 90 percent of freshmen change their major somewhere along the way.
Parents can help here also by talking over the majors represented in the early required courses and keeping the pressure to make an early decision low. One primary advantage of college is in educating about the variety of life's opportunities.
If college is viewed as a source of information about choices, then staying in makes sense. Little is lost by taking courses to explore the wide range of majors and careers before making this important decision.
When graduates of five years ago are asked what courses they wish they had taken, they seldom mention courses in their major. Instead, engineers mention business courses, teachers mention additional psychology or language courses and others mention history, science or hobby-developing courses. It's a long way from graduation to retirement.
Campus career counselors can be a great help if they are part of schedule planning from the start. With their help in the first year or two, both the student's interests and the practical side of career training can usually be accommodated.
Next time: the big mistakes to avoid in college.